Cleaning article

ABSTRACT

A cleaning article in the form of a sponge body for absorbing and retaining a fluid and an encasement membrane attached to the sponge body. The encasement membrane covers a portion of the sponge body being sized to fit within and be held by the hand of a user while leaving exposed, a portion of the sponge body for engaging a surface to be cleaned. As a preferred embodiment, the encasement membrane is further characterized as being a thermal insulator substantially reducing thermal energy contained within the fluid from passing therethrough. The encasement membrane is also characterized as being impervious to water, steam or other gasses to prevent their escape where they could affect the user&#39;s hand. The present invention is ideally suited for cleaning a surface by applying a cleaning fluid, such as water with or without a detergent to the sponge body and placing the cleaning article within a microwave oven. The temperature of the cleaning fluid contained within the sponge body is thus raised while the encasement membrane prevents a user from being exposed to thermal energy contained within the cleaning fluid held by the sponge body.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Benefit is hereby made of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/802,550,filed on May 22, 2006.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a cleaning article and method ofusing the cleaning article for cleaning a surface. The cleaning articleincludes a sponge body for absorbing and retaining a fluid and anencasement membrane surrounding a portion of the sponge body whileleaving a surface exposed for carrying out the cleaning operation. Theencasement membrane acts as an insulator to substantially preventthermal energy applied to the sponge body through, preferably, microwaveirradiation from passing to the hand of a user while gripping thecleaning article for cleaning a surface, and further acts to retainthermal energy in the sponge to keep it hot longer for enhancedcleaning.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sponges have been used quite extensively for cleaning surfaces as theyretain water or other cleaning solutions, the amount of these cleaningsolutions retained within a sponge body being dependent upon the natureof the sponge, its physical dimensions and whether the sponge has beensubjected to compression. There are many varieties of sponges bothnatural and synthetic while artificial sponges were first developed bythe Du Pont Company in the 1940's. Du Pont engineers patented thecellulose sponge process noting that in the second half of the 20.sup.thcentury, cellulose sponges rapidly replaced the natural sponge for mostcommon household uses.

Although sponges are widely used for cleaning applications, they are notwithout certain inherent limitations. Most notably, although it is wellrecognized that the cleaning process can be enhanced by employingcleaning fluids of higher temperatures, when a sponge is exposed to hightemperature fluids, the temperature of such fluids is limited by auser's ability to tolerate the higher temperatures during the cleaningprocess. Unless a user was to apply a thermal insulating glove duringcleaning, users are oftentimes hesitant to grab a cleaning sponge dippedin excessively hot water for fear of receiving burn injuries. However,if only cold or lukewarm cleaning fluid was to be employed, the cleaningpotential in using a sponge is certainly compromised.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cleaningarticle and method of employing it to enable a user to use cleaningfluids of significantly high temperatures while enabling a user to gripthe cleaning article without the fear of burning and while obviating theneed for using protective garments such as thermally insulating gloves.

These and further objects will be more readily apparent when consideringthe following disclosure and appended claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cleaning article in the form of a sponge body for absorbing andretaining a fluid and an encasement membrane attached to the spongebody. The encasement membrane covers a portion of the sponge body beingsized to fit within and be held by the hand of a user while leavingexposed, a portion of the sponge body for engaging a surface to becleaned. The encasement membrane is further characterized as being athermal insulator substantially reducing thermal energy contained withinthe fluid from passing therethrough. As a preferred embodiment, theencasement membrane is also characterized by being impervious to water,steam or other gasses to prevent their escape where they may injure theuser's hands. The present invention is ideally suited for cleaning asurface by applying a cleaning fluid, such as water with or without adetergent to the sponge body and placing the cleaning article within amicrowave oven. The temperature of the cleaning fluid contained withinthe sponge body is thus raised while the encasement membrane prevents auser from being exposed to thermal energy contained within the cleaningfluid held by the sponge body. The encasement membrane also acts as athermal barrier to maintain the temperature of the sponge for a longerperiod to enhance the cleaning function. Further, its exposure tomicrowave radiation acts to sterilize the sponge to provide a moreantiseptic cleaning process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially cut away to show the internalconstruction of the cleaning article of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a method of using the cleaningarticle of FIG. 1 and preparing the article for use and in cleaning anappropriate surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to cleaning article 10 which comprisessponge body 12. Sponge body 12, as noted previously, can be a natural orsynthetic sponge having intersities capable of absorbing and selectivelyretaining a cleaning fluid, such as water, with or without a detergent.Encasement membrane 11 covers a portion of sponge 12 being sized to fitwithin and be held by the hand of a user while leaving exposed portion13 of sponge body 12 for engaging a surface to be cleaned. Encasementmembrane 11 is characterized as being a thermal insulator substantiallypreventing thermal energy contained within the cleaning fluid frompassing therethrough.

Cleaning article 10 is shown as having sponge body 12 for absorbing andretaining a fluid (not shown) and an encasement membrane 11 attachedthereto. The encasement membrane 11 covers a portion of sponge body 12being sized to fit within and be held by the human hand of a userleaving exposed portion 13 of sponge body 12 for engaging a surface tobe cleaned. Ericasement membrane 11 is further characterized as being athermal insulator substantially preventing thermal energy containedwithin the fluid retained within sponge body 12 from passingtherethrough. As a preferred embodiment, the encasement membrane 11 isalso characterized by being impervious to water, steam or other gassesto prevent those from contacting the user's hand.

Cleaning article 10 is shown as being rectangular in FIG. 1 having twosubstantially parallel surfaces, the first being at 13 and the secondfully encased within encasement membrane 11 and being connected byperpendicular sidewalls. As such, encasement membrane 11 substantiallyencases one of the parallel surfaces and perpendicular sidewallsexposing the second parallel surface 13 as a cleaning surface.

Although the physical embodiment of FIG. 1 is of a rectangular shape,virtually any geometric shape can be employed in practicing the presentinvention. All that is important in configuring the present inventionproperly is to provide an encasement membrane which can conveniently beheld by the hand of a user when employing cleaning article 10 for itsintended purpose and which enables at least a portion of sponge body 12to be exposed, again, to carry out the cleaning function.

It is a cornerstone in practicing the present invention to provideencasement membrane 11 of a suitable thickness and material tosufficiently insulate the hand of a user when fluid contained withinsponge body 12 becomes very hot, such as by wetting sponge body 12 witha suitable cleaning solution and placing cleaning article 10 within amicrowave irradiation source to significantly raise the temperature ofthis fluid. By illustration, it is suggested that a suitable encasementmembrane be a closed cell foam of, for example, ⅛″ in thickness. Anexample of a suitable foam is available from Stephenson & Lawyer, Inc.,sold under the trade name Volara™.

In employing cleaning article 10, reference is made to FIG. 2. As noted,cleaning article 10 is first subjected to a cleaning fluid such as watercontaining a surfactant 31 maintained within bucket or tub 30 althoughthe sponge can be wet by other means such as by holding it under afaucet of running water. Once sufficient liquid has been retained withinthe intersities of sponge body 12, cleaning article 10 can then beplaced within microwave irradiation source 35 and heated until thecleaning fluid contained within sponge body 12 gets to the point of nearboiling. Ordinarily, without encasement membrane 11, sponge body 12would be too hot to handle without protective means such as a glovemaking microwave irradiation of a typical sponge unworkable even thoughit is well recognized that high temperatures clearly enhance theeffectiveness of the cleaning operation. By employing encasementmembrane 11, hand 38 of a user can grasp cleaning article 10 withoutdiscomfort or injury. And, as noted previously, elevated temperatures ofthe cleaning fluid contained within sponge body 12 would enhance theeffectiveness of the cleaning article when employed for its intendedpurpose. By employing microwave irradiation coupled with the describedencasement membrane, a user will be able to heat the cleaning article tomuch higher temperatures than would normally be the case. Microwaveenergy also disinfects the sponge to provide a more antiseptic cleaningprocess. No longer is it required that the sponge be dipped in a hotcleaning solution. Instead, the cleaning solution could be at virtuallyany temperature whereupon the cleaning article be placed in a microwaveirradiation source and heated to the desired temperature and because ofthe encasement membrane, this temperature can be significantly higherthan was previously thought to be practical. This will also help toreduce bacteria and other foreign bodies which would otherwise remainwithin the intersities of the sponge body resulting in surfacecontamination.

It should further be noted that encasement membrane 11 can be physicallyadhered to sponge body 12 by any convenient means including gluing, heatbonding, friction fit, hook and loop fasteners or lamination. It mayalso be desirable to allow sponge body 12 to be removable fromencasement membrane 11 to allow a user to reemploy the encasementmembrane as sponges wear out over time. As seen in FIG. 1, the membranehas a uniform thickness over the top side and the sidewalls of thesponge and has no extra handle or grip off the sponge body. As a result,the membrane may have the external shape of a sponge body over the topside and the sidewalls of the sponge body encased by the membrane. Themembrane illustrated has five side and extends over the top side andpartially over the four illustrated sidewalls of the sponge body.Thickness of encasement membrane 11 could vary widely noting that atypical closed cell foam of ⅛″ in thickness appears to work well inpracticing the present invention. Thickness and material choices shouldbe governed by enabling a user to handle the present cleaning articlecomfortably although sponge body 12 may contain cleaning fluid atboiling temperatures. The encasement membrane 11 should also be made ofnon-liquid absorbent materials, of which closed cell foam is an example,to prevent liquid from intruding therein and causing its temperature torise as influenced by microwave irradiation. Finally, as a preferredembodiment, the encasement membrane 11 should be impervious to water,steam or gases from penetrating the membrane and thereby contacting theuser's hand when the cleaning article 10 is utilized.

1.-9. (canceled)
 10. A cleaning article comprising: a sponge body forabsorbing and retaining a fluid, the sponge body having a bottom sidefor being rubbed over a surface, an opposite top side and sidewallsconnecting said top and bottom sides; an encasement membrane attached tosaid sponge body, covering said top side and a portion of said sidewallsof sponge body and leaving said bottom side exposed, said membranehaving an exterior shaped and sized to fit within and be held by thehand of a user, while leaving exposed said bottom side of said spongebody for engaging a surface to be cleaned, said encasement membranebeing a thermal insulator which reduces thermal energy contained withinsaid fluid from passing through said membrane.
 11. The cleaning articleof claim 10, wherein said top and bottom sides of said sponge body areparallel.
 12. The cleaning article of claim 11, wherein said sidewallsof said sponge body are perpendicular to said top and bottom sidesthereof.
 13. The cleaning article of claim 11, wherein said top andbottom sides of said sponge body are each substantially rectangularlyshaped.
 14. The cleaning article of claim 13, wherein said encasementmembrane has a five sided shape extending over said top side andpartially over said sidewalls of said sponge body.
 15. The cleaningarticle of claim 10, wherein said encasement membrane is comprised of amaterial which is impervious to water, steam or other gases.
 16. Thecleaning article of claim 10, wherein said encasement membrane iscomprised of a material having the characteristic that its temperaturedoes not significantly increase upon exposure to microwave irradiationsuch that said article may be held in a hand by holding the membraneafter said irradiation.
 17. The cleaning article of claim 16, whereinsaid encasement membrane is comprised of closed cell foam.
 18. Thecleaning article of claim 10, wherein said encasement membrane is ofuniform thickness over said top side and said sidewalls of said spongebody and is without a grip off said sponge body.
 19. The cleaningarticle of claim 10, wherein said encasement membrane has an externalshape of said sponge body over said top side and said sidewalls of saidsponge body are encased by said membrane.